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'Jimmy Kimmel,' 'The Walking Dead' fined six figures by FCC for use of emergency tones

Posted: 10:41 AM, Aug 16, 2019

Updated:2019-08-16 11:15:10-04

By:
CNN Newsource

An episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last year featured emergency tones in a sketch mocking the presidential alert system. And it'll cost parent company ABC dearly.

In a statement Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission said it hit the show with a $395,000 fine for misusing the tone from the emergency alert system.

The emergency alert system (EAS) tone is used on television and cellphones to warn people of impending emergencies such as tornadoes and floods.

To protect the purpose of the warning system, the agency has a rule against use of EAS tones or their simulations -- except in actual emergencies, authorized tests or qualified public service announcements.

The comedian's late-night show used the tone three times in the sketch October 3, federal officials said.
Just hours earlier, millions of cell phones nationwide had received a presidential alert. "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed," that alert said.